SINGAPORE: The Singapore Biennale 2008 will be the anchor cultural event during the Grand Prix season in September, with an aim to impress and draw global attention to Singapore's Arts scene.

This year, the Biennale will see more than 50 artists and art collectives from over 36 countries exhibit their artworks in three key venues in Singapore: the City Hall, the former South Beach camp and Marina Bay.

Although it is smaller in size and spans across fewer locations, it promises to be better and more engaging than ever.

Compared to the previous event when 95 artists displayed their works across more than 16 locations, Artistic Director Fumio Nanjo assured that this year's exhibitions will be even more focused and interactive through the theme of "Wonder".

In contrast to the 2006's theme of "Believe", "Wonder" is set to create a sense of surprise and inspiration upon seeing the artworks, which Nanjo describes as "beautiful, yet different".

The Artistic Director hopes that these contemporary artwork will captivate the viewers and prompt them to question the exhibits and their interpretation of art.

"The artworks selected...will attempt to cut through the fabric of the political and socially constructed and perceptual limits of our world," said Nanjo.

"These call upon us to question and be curious, to punch through surfaces of what is apparent so that we can be surprised, tantalised and challenged at what is revealed or presented.

"Some of these works also engage our minds and our senses upon terrain that is unexplained, unfamiliar and at times, seemingly consistent with trickery, or present things of unutterable beauty, that we are held at awe in their presence."

Apart from traditional photo exhibitions and paintings, the Biennale also uses varied forms of approaches and medias, from drawing and sculpture, photography and video to new and mixed media installations, indicating yet again the breadth of contemporary art practice.

Even the sense of hearing will be enthralled in this year's event.

According to Nanjo, customers on the Singapore Flyer will get a rare threat if negotiations are successful in installing a sound system in the Flyer's capsules to create a even more wondrous sight-seeing journey on the wheel.

Also expected to be a crowd-pleaser will be a light projector, which will use the clouds as a canvas in projecting an image onto the skies.

This second edition of the Biennale will put the spotlight on contemporary arts mainly in Asia and the Middle East, with minor contributions from other parts of the world.

According to Nanjo, the Middle East is an emerging market, not just in economic terms but also in arts and culture.

He hopes events such as this Biennale will act as a platform in bridging different cultures together.

The Singapore Biennale 2008 will commence later in the year from September to November.

- CNA/yb